Solo Ad Success Bonus Report

 

Introduction

 

In the Forever Free Club, you learned about the importance of TRAFFIC. You need traffic to get subscribers to your newsletter, which you need in order to send emails where you deliver quality content, develop good relationships and promote offers.

 

In short, traffic directly leads to money, which is what we want as Team Members, right?

 

Recap: Free vs Paid Traffic

 

There are two broad types of traffic: free and paid. There are great strategies for both, which you learned in Step 7.

 

However, there is a trade off with them. If you’re going to grow your business, you need to invest one of two things: time or money.

 

If you pursue free traffic sources, you’re going to need to invest a substantial amount of your time. After all, the best sources of free traffic – posting on forums, commenting on blogs, social networking, and so forth – aren’t quick.

 

You need to block out a substantial amount of time in order to get lots of people, at least until you have enough subscribers to where you can do solo ad swaps with other lists.

 

Paying for traffic is a way to dramatically speed up the process. If you pay for traffic, you can spend less time to getting new subscribers and spend that time for other things, like creating awesome content.

 

What About PPC?

 

If you’ve got the money, paid traffic is awesome. So what are the best sources of paid traffic?

 

One type of paid traffic you’ve probably heard of is Pay Per Click advertising (PPC). These are paid advertisements where you pay the provider of these ads every time the ad is clicked.

 

Here’s an example of PPC ads on Google.

 

 

Every time someone clicks on one of these links, the person who paid for the ad has to spend money on that.

 

The nice thing about PPC is that you only pay when you get a specific result: somebody clicks on your ad and visits your website.

 

It’d be like Wal Mart advertising on a billboard and only paying the billboard company when somebody sees that ad and walks into a Wal Mart.

 

In the real world, this would be impossible to track, but online it is very possible. Many companies do offer advertising opportunities like these, including Google and Facebook.

 

10 years ago, all you had to do in order to get lots and lots of traffic was put up some PPC ads on Google. It was ridiculous how cheap this traffic was.

 

Unfortunately, those days are long gone. It IS possible to still drive traffic to your site with PPC ads, but you need DEEP pockets. In addition, you need some complex strategies to get a good rate of return on your investment.

 

That’s why I don’t recommend new Team Members like you wasting time with PPC ads.

 

Solo Ads

 

Instead of PPC, I recommend that new Team Members purchase solo ads. Simply put, solo ads are the easiest, most cost effective way to pay for QUALITY traffic. They allow you to use somebody else’s list to build your own.

 

You do this by paying another list owner for the right to send out your message to other people’s list. In this message, you’ll encourage them to head on over to your opt in page and subscribe to your list.

 

Now here’s the beauty of the Forever Free Club system. If you apply the TYP method, you’ll partially make back the money you spent on your solo ad.

 

The rest of your money will be reimbursed and far exceeded over time because once they’re subscribed to your list, you’ve got them FOREVER (assuming you send the types of emails we talked about in the course).

 

Needless to say, whatever you paid for this traffic will be more than worth it!

 

Simply put, if you’ve got some money to spend on your new email marketing business, solo ads are the place to spend that money.

 

Of course, there are certain things you can do which will make you more or less successful with solo ads. That’s what this report is all about.

 

In this report, you’re going to learn EXACTLY how to use solo ads to turbo-charge your email marketing business. This report includes proven, step-by-step solo ad strategies that will work for ANY Inboxer.

 

You’ll also get a comprehensive solo ad directory, where you can get access to the best lists in your niche at a reasonable price.

 

I know that spending money is nerve-wracking, but by the time you finish this report, you’ll be able to invest in traffic with confidence.

 

All you need to do is apply what you learn here.

 

IF you do that, then you WILL be successful with solo ads and will start making lots and lots of money as an Inboxer quickly.

 

Remember

• Paying for traffic saves you time
• PPC advertising is difficult nowadays
• Paid solo ads will give you the biggest bang for your buck

 

Next: You’re going to learn about what makes solo ads so special…

 

 

 

Section 1: What Are Solo Ads?

 

In the introduction, I gave you a brief overview of what solo ads are. Before I show you specific ways to find and purchase great solo ads, I want to go into a little more detail about what solo ads are.

 

Solo ads are in the category of “ezine advertising.” Ezine is another way of saying “online newsletter,” which is what we’ve primarily used in the Forever Free Club course.

 

I’m going to use the words ezine and newsletter interchangeably in this report, so I wanted to clear that up so you’re not confused.

 

With that said, here’s how solo ads work. Many ezines sell ad space, either inside their mailings or as stand-alone emails.

 

There are three types of these ads:

 

1. Classified Ads

 

These are the cheapest ads you can buy in a newsletter. They’re also by far the weakest. Classified ads are typically limited to 2 or 3 lines and are at the bottom of a mailing.

 

If you’re a new Inboxer, don’t bother with classified ads!

 

2. Top Sponsor Ads

 

These are similar to classified ads in that they are in one of their newsletter, but unlike classified ads are longer (around 10 lines) and are located at the TOP of the newsletter.

 

Because of this, they are more expensive than classified ads, but also more effective.

 

Nevertheless, if you’re a new Inboxer, you should stay away from these types of ads, at least at first.

 

3. Solo Ads

 

These are the most effective ads you can purchase in an ezine because they are stand-alone emails written by you. You don’t have to compete with what the other person is writing.

 

This means that solo ads are more expensive than the other two, but it is DEFINITELY worth the extra cost.

 

How much do solo ads cost? As a general rule of thumb, you’re doing well if you’re paying $1-$5 per subscriber with solo ads.

 

That might sound like a lot, but if you consider that you’ll recoup some of that with the TYP Method, and that you can expect to earn $1 per month per subscriber with the Forever Free Club, that’s not so bad at all!

 

Remember

• Ezines and newsletters can be used interchangeably
• When you’re starting out, you want to stick to solo ads since they will give you the biggest bang for your buck

 

Next: Now that you have a clear sense of what solo ads are, in the next step you’re going to learn about how to write good solo ads.

 

 

 

 

 

Section 2: How To Write Good Solo Ads

 

How well your solo ad is written will in large part determine whether the solo ad is successful or not. Does this mean you have to be an amazing copywriter? Of course not!

 

In fact, the best way to write a good solo ad is to simply take what you wrote on your opt-in page and expand on it.

 

That headline on your opt-in page will probably make a great subject line for your solo ad. Those bullet points where you’re making the case for somebody to sign up for your list is a solid foundation for your email copy.

 

Here are some secrets to writing awesome solo ads:

 

Short, impactful statements and paragraphs.

 

There’s no need for elaborate paragraphs filled with fluffy language. This isn’t English class. The simpler, the better. To help you write more powerful sentences, refer to the power words swipe file in the resources section.

 

Emphasize FREE

 

People love free stuff. You’re offering them something for free, so emphasize that! This should be the easiest pitch in the world: “come join this free newsletter that will make your life a lot better… all for free!”

 

Emphasize EASY

 

People love free stuff… but not if they have to put in a lot of effort for it. Make sure you emphasize that there’s no work involved – all they need to do is click the link below.

 

Now, while it’s important to emphasize free and easy, it’s also important to make sure you follow the next principle…

 

No HYPE

 

When somebody reads something that sounds hypey, alarm bells go off. They will click away before reading one paragraph of your email.

 

Therefore, make sure you’re not making grandiose claims or using crazy punctuation please!!!!

 

Link to your opt-in page 3 times

 

You want THREE links to your opt-in page in your solo ad: once near the beginning, once in the middle and once near the end.

 

Always use a unique tracking link

 

You want to track how many people click on your links. That’s why a service like Hypertracker is so important. That way, you can get a better sense of how well your ad is performing.

 

 

If you follow these guidelines, you will write excellent solo ads that will get people clicking over to your opt-in page.

 

Remember

• Use your opt-in page as the foundation of your solo ad
  • Short, impactful statements and paragraphs.
  • Emphasize FREE
  • Emphasize EASY
  • No HYPE
  • Link to your opt-in page 3 times
  • Always use a unique tracking link

 

 

Next: I’m going to show you how to put some solo ads out there and start driving traffic to your opt-in page and get new subscribers!

 

 

 

Section 3: Solo Ad Success

 

Now we get to the fun part… getting traffic with solo ads! You’re about to get step by step directions on how to do this, and you’ll see that it’s not that difficult at all.

 

IMPORTANT: Before you spend any money on solo ads, make sure the following things are true…

 

• You have an opt-in page.
• Your Thank You Page links to an offer (TYP Method)
• You have around $250 to spend
• You have at least 1 week worth of emails queued up in your autoresponder

 

If all of these conditions are met, you’re ready to start sending out some solo ads.

 

That DOESN’T mean signing up for the first solo ad buy you see and clean out your bank account. You need to be more strategic than that.

 

1. Research

 

In the last part of this report, you’ll find a list of the best ezines directories. Ezine directories are exactly what they sound like: collections of ezines that offer up advertising, including solo ads.

 

Finding good ezine directories is tricky. Google won’t necessarily give you the best ones. To REALLY find good ones, you need to get tips from people who actually run solo ads.

 

Luckily, this report will give you a TON of them from people – us – who buy solo ads all the time! The best ones WILL cost you money to join, but your upfront investment will more than pay for itself.

 

Once you sign up for one of these directories, browse your options. Sign up for some of them. Read a few of the emails they send. Get a sense of what they’re like.

 

What you want to do is come up with a list of 5-10 ezines that are good candidates to purchase advertising space.

 

What does a good ezine to purchase solo ads look like?

 

• Relevant to your niche. If your newsletter is in the health niche, then you want to advertise in a health newsletter.
• Good ezines have a BALANCE of content and advertisements. If every email they send out is an ad, you want to STAY AWAY!
• Good ezines have a high open rate. People actually open their emails when they’re delivered. High open rates also implies that people enjoy these ezines. Before purchasing a solo ad, inquire about their open rates.
• Short wait time. Some of the most popular ezines will make you wait months before you can publish your ad. Try and find one where you can publish your solo ad within a couple weeks.
• Size matters. Try and find ezines that have 5-10 times the number of subscribers that you currently have.

 

Create a list of ezines that meet these requirements, then move onto the second step…

 

2. Select ONE ezine for a test run

 

It’s a good idea to test a single solo ad to get experience and see what the results are BEFORE spending a ton of money on solo ads.

 

Better to lose $200 and find out that something doesn’t work than $1000!

 

After you select an ezine, email the owner. Ezine owners won’t just rent out their lists to anyone. You need to explain to them what your newsletter is and how their readers will benefit from subscribing.

 

Ideally, send over the solo ad you’d like to run in their ezine so they can see exactly what you’ll be sending their subscribers.

 

If they feel confident that their readers are going to get value out of this promotion, they’ll be more likely to let you run your solo ad.

 

3. Prepare your solo ad

 

Before you write your solo ad, make sure you know what the guidelines are for the ezine you’re writing for.

 

Some of the most important ones to look out for are…

 

• Maximum number of characters per line
• Total number of lines
• Content restrictions

 

4. Run the ad and track the results

 

With any kind of advertising, it’s ESSENTIAL that you get hard data on its effectiveness. You never, EVER want to be in a situation where you “think” something worked or not – you want to be able to know for sure!

 

That’s why it’s so important to include the Hypertracker link in your solo ad. That Hypertracker link will tell you how many people clicked on the link in your solo ad. When you get the open rate from the ezine owner, you can use this data to calculate your solo ad’s click through rate (CTR).

 

In addition, note the number of subscribers you had before you ran your promotion along with the number of subscribers you have after your promotion. That’ll give you a rough idea of how many new subscribers signed up, which allows you to calculate your cost per subscriber.

 

5. Analyze those statistics and make adjustments

 

The reason collecting these statistics is so important is that you can use these hard numbers to make adjustments to your solo ad campaigns.

 

Start with cost per subscriber. If it costs $1-$5 for a new subscriber, you’re in great shape. Between your Thank You Page and how much you earn every month per subscriber, you will make that money back quickly.

 

If your cost per subscriber is higher than that, then you need to make adjustments to your approach before spending any more money on solo ads.

 

There are three things that determine the success of a solo ad campaign.

 

• The ezine you’re advertising in
• Your solo ad
• Your opt-in page

 

A cost per subscriber points to a problem with at least one of these things. Is your click through rate really low? Then you need to make your solo ad better or try advertising in a new ezine.

 

Is your click through rate okay, but visitors to your opt-in page aren’t subscribing? Then you need to make your opt-in page better.

 

Once you make these changes, test again. See what the results of the new test are.

 

When, and ONLY when, you’ve run a series of tests where you have a cost per subscriber in that $1-$5 sweet spot, then you can expand your solo ad buying on a larger scale.

 

6. Scale Up And Leverage Your Own List

 

Straight up buying solo ads is necessary when your list is small. If you follow the first five steps here, then you’ll have no problem bumping up the number of subscribers on your list.

 

However, you don’t need to do this forever. Once you have a good subscriber base, even if it’s just a few hundred subscribers, you can start using your list as an asset to get FREE traffic.

 

That’s because you can go up to somebody with a list in your niche and say “hey, I’ll let you mail my list if you allow me to mail yours.”

 

All of a sudden, you’re doing solo ad swaps, where you’ll be able to get FREE traffic! Then you get into a virtuous cycle where your list grows itself, all for free.

 

This is the formula for solo ad success. As you can see, it’s not that complicated. However, I understand if you feel a little overwhelmed, so in the next section I’m going to provide you with a simple master checklist that will help you keep all this straight.

 

 

 

Section 4: Solo Ad Master Checklist

 

When you’re going to purchase solo ads for the first time, make sure you have this list handy and follow these steps exactly. That way, you can dramatically increase your chances of getting a great return on your investment.

 

Before you begin

 

• You have an opt-in page.
• Your Thank You Page links to an offer (TYP Method)
• You have around $250 to spend
• You have at least 1 week worth of emails queued up in your autoresponder

 

Preparation

 

• Search ezine directories for ezines that meet the following criteria:
  • Relevant to your niche
  • BALANCE of content and advertisements
  • High open rate
  • 5-10 times the number of subscribers that you currently have
• Select ONE ezine for a test run
  • Write your solo ad
    • Short, impactful statements and paragraphs.
    • Emphasize FREE
    • Emphasize EASY
    • No HYPE
    • Link to your opt-in page 3 times
    • Always use a unique tracking link
  • Run the ad and track the results
  • Analyze those statistics and make adjustments
  • Scale up and leverage your own list

 

 

 

 

 

Section 5: Master List Of Ezine Directories

 

Here is a list of credible ezine directories where you’ll find ezines where you can publish your solo ads.

 

Ezines-R-Us http://www.ezines-r-us.com/

 

This directory is one of the oldest on the Internet, with good customer support. The solo ad package is the best value. They will also write your solo ad for you for just $37, which is a great deal if you aren’t confident in your copywriting skills.

 

AdsMarket Ezine Advertising Network http://www.adsmarket.biz/index.html

 

A number of different ad directories, are on this network. Some of them are better than others. One nice thing is that you can talk to real people when need help from their support form, live chat, Twitter, or their blog.

 

My Wizard Ads http://www.ezinead.net/

 

Started in 2001, this directory is still viable. It gives you the opportunity to buy solo ads at a reasonable cost.

 

AdsHome Ezine Classified Ad Coop http://www.ezineclassifiedads.com/

 

This network specializes primarily in classified ads. That said, you might still be able to find good solo ad offers here.

 

 

 

 

Bonus: Other Types Of Ads

 

In section 1, I mentioned that there are other types of ads you can purchase in ezines. Those two types of ads are top sponsor ads and classified ads.

 

As a reminder, classified ads are typically limited to 2 or 3 lines and are at the bottom of a mailing.

 

Top sponsor ads are longer (around 10 lines) and are located at the TOP of the newsletter.

 

When you’re starting out as an Inboxer, you should invest your precious time and money into solo ads, since those will give you the best results.

 

However, you might want to experiment with these other two types of ads as well. In general, the process is the EXACT same as with solo ads. Just run through the steps you learned in section 3.

 

Here are some additional things you should keep in mind as you’re writing these other ads.

 

Writing Top Sponsor Ads

 

When you’re writing solo ads, I suggested using your opt-in page as a template. When you write your top sponsor ad, I suggest expanding your resource box, where you say “click here”

 

 

Using the content in your resource box as the base, make the following additions.

 

• Emphasize the FREE offer.
• List out several benefits to the reader.
• Generously use power words
• Make sure you use a unique tracking link
• Display your URL in the full http:// format (Not “Click here”)

 

Writing Classified Ads

 

Writing classified ads is similar to writing top sponsor ads. You want to use your resource box as a template, but you need to be VERY selective with your words since you only have 2 or 3 lines.

 

That means…

 

• Power words! Every word counts here
• Emphasize FREE
• Your most powerful 2 or 3 benefits
• Create a unique tracking URL in the http:// format